The Worst Products You Can Buy At Aldi

Sometimes bargain shopping at Aldi leads you to the worst products. The grocery chain tends to butt heads with competitors like Walmart and Lidl in a game of who-sells-it-cheaper, as CNN has reported. Despite the huge markdowns on food and homeware items, Aldi still has its faults.

It's no secret that grocery store produce sections have high standards, as shoppers expect glossy-looking fruits and plump, crunchy veggies. With dairy, you want to trust that product labels aren't misleading, and you, of course, want frozen foods that won't make you sick. But the unfortunate truth is that some products can spoil your experience at Aldi stores. Aldi is no stranger to legal confrontation and negative media coverage. That's why The List compiled the worst products to buy at Aldi, so you can make informed decisions at the grocery store.

So, what should you be on the lookout for the next time you're penny-pinching at Aldi? Read on to learn which products have the lowest appeal among Aldi shoppers.

It's probably a good idea to thoroughly inspect the vegetables sold at Aldi. Pick up and turn over packages so you know you're buying the highest quality products. However, if you opt for Aldi's delivery service, you're taking a gamble on whether or not the delivery person selects the freshest vegetables available. One verified reviewer at Consumer Affairs posted pictures of an Aldi produce delivery that included "useless" and "rotten" products in 2020. The radishes and mushrooms looked withered and unappetizing. The woman concluded, "Save yourself some time and get groceries from other places." Another customer filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau after reportedly discovering bugs in a head of lettuce they purchased. The case was marked as resolved after Aldi issued a $5 gift card for the customer's troubles.

These cases are only two of a series of complaints from customers who feel let down by Aldi's vegetables. Disappointment, anger, and frustration seem to be shared emotions among shoppers. One Aldi customer on Reddit described their shopping experience as underwhelming because of how quickly the vegetables reportedly spoiled after purchase.

If you do buy vegetables at Aldi, remember to do your part and check for bad spots. No one wants to feel like they're throwing money away by purchasing rotten produce.

Don't you hate when brands lie to you? According to Truth In Advertising, a man named Steve Gensberg filed a class-action lawsuit against Aldi in 2019, accusing them of mislabeling their Simply Nature Vanilla Soymilk, leading customers to believe it actually contained vanilla. Documents from the Gensberg v. Aldi case accused the grocery store of committing "food fraud," which happens when companies try to pass off imitation products as the real deal.

If real vanilla and artificial vanilla taste the same, then why does it matter? Well, the problem was how Aldi presented their product. There was no mention of vanilla extract or bean on the ingredient list even though the front label had "vanilla" printed on it. Instead, the back of the carton read "natural flavor." The lawsuit claimed that customers may not have bought the soymilk had they known the truth.

It's a good idea to check products' ingredient lists next time you're in Aldi so there are no surprises.

Buying cheap fruit can come at a price. According to Aldi Reviewer, hepatitis A contaminated Aldi's Season's Choice frozen raspberries and berry medley brand, and Aldi removed the produce from its shelves. Fortunately, no illnesses were reported. Aldi also voluntarily recalled their Rio Duero peaches, nectarines, and plums due to potential contamination of listeria monocytogenes, according to the store's official announcement.

These recalls alone may not sway you away from Aldi's low-priced fruit, but consider the illnesses reported on IWasPoisoned.com. A woman said she bought Aldi's grapes, and family members who ate them felt severe stomach pains while those who didn't eat any had no symptoms. Another report mentioned that the Sundae Shoppe strawberry popsicle brand "tasted off." A doctor later reportedly diagnosed the patient with acute food poisoning.

So, while Aldi may offer some good deals, you may want to skip some of their fruit.

At the entrance of some Aldi stores, you're bound to notice a tight corner where the company keeps its "floral" section. And prices may be reduced if the plants are close to dying. According to the Money Saving Expert, some garden-savvy customers suggested that the company may neglect watering the plants they have for sale. 

But an Aldi branch in England does have an outside space dedicated to plants, and not even the open-air seemed to save them from dying. The Daily Mail published gloomy pictures of potted flowers at an Aldi that were marked down to £1.99, or about $2.50. The dead plants reportedly stayed on sale for several days as Aldi continued to wheel them outside for customers to buy.

While Aldi's flower section may draw less appeal than their food or homeware items, it's a shame that at least one Aldi has reportedly kept dead flowers on the shelves. They're the first thing you see as you head into Aldi, and that could set a dull tone for your shopping experience. Plus, who wants a dying plant?

In another voluntary recall, Aldi removed their Bremer Classic Handheld hot stuffed sandwiches (aka rip off Hot Pockets) from stores because of a possible "foreign material" contamination in April 2019. Aldi's official press release specifically identified the Ham and Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza flavors and shared some not-so-tasty news about what was in them. Select stores in 29 states got rid of the product so no one would chomp down on "hard semi-transparent plastic."

But this wasn't the only meat product up for recall. In May 2019, Aldi shared that their Kirkwood Buffalo Crispy Chicken Strips and Honey Barbecue Crispy Chicken Strips may have included pieces of metal. The press release named Tyson Foods as their distributor and issued a formal apology for the inconvenience. 

It's worth noting that Aldi reportedly didn't receive a passing grade from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund when they assessed which stores notify customers about recalls, according to Food Safety News. The supermarket assessment took into consideration which stores, including Aldi, use in-store and direct customer notification when products are unsafe. Unfortunately, Aldi ended up with an "F." 

There's just no sugar-coating an oversight like selling water taps with high levels of lead. According to the Daily Mail Australia, a test revealed that a $79.99 kitchen tap sold at Aldi — specifically, the Easy Home spiral spring mixer kitchen tap — contained dangerous levels of lead. In fact, it was reportedly 21 times the maximum allowable amount.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission raised suspicions about the safety of the kitchen tap and warned consumers against using it for drinking, The Queensland Times reported. Regarding the tap, a professor at the University of Melbourne School of Chemistry stated, "I wouldn't use the water from this tap." One customer asked a difficult question about the scandal: "It's scary. You've got to wonder, would Aldi's management give their kids the water from that tap?"

What's worrisome is that Aldi claimed the product was safe, even though test results reportedly suggested the exact opposite to be true.